Hi All
For sometime I have been trying to decide which is the best mig to buy for doing mainly car body and chassis repairs.
For me duty cycle is not an issue because I don't mind having a cup of tea between welds and for a lot of the time there will be natural gaps in welding while adjusting/making panels.
I don't want a hobby machine for a number of reasons, mainly I want a mig that will last, it is ages since I have done any welding and I don't want to learn how to overcome problems with poor wire feed etc, I want to rebuild my skills on a quality machine so if there are any problems I know it is me and not the mig.
I am no different to most people in that I want to pay the least for the best and have been looking at the second hand market. A second hand Portamig would be ideal but they rarely come onto the market, however, I have seen a Butters 211 and from what I can gather is also a excellent machine.
So here comes my question, the portamig has a starting range of 15/20 amps and the Butters 30 amps (same as a lot of machines). As I will be welding mainly car panels is there an advantage of going below 30 amps?
I have searched everywhere for the answer and have failed to come to a conclusion. A lot of people rave about the portamigs ability to weld at 20 amps especially on car panels but at the same time other people say that 30 amps is ideal for car work.
Can anyone answer this question once and for all?
I would be interested to know if people with portamigs are actually using a setting above 20a when welding panels. Also from people who have a quality mig with a 30a starting range.
I hope that makes sense and I look forward to receiving the replies so that I can finally stop watching EBay and make a purchase.
Thanks.
P.S. If you have a little used portamig for sale please let me know.
For sometime I have been trying to decide which is the best mig to buy for doing mainly car body and chassis repairs.
For me duty cycle is not an issue because I don't mind having a cup of tea between welds and for a lot of the time there will be natural gaps in welding while adjusting/making panels.
I don't want a hobby machine for a number of reasons, mainly I want a mig that will last, it is ages since I have done any welding and I don't want to learn how to overcome problems with poor wire feed etc, I want to rebuild my skills on a quality machine so if there are any problems I know it is me and not the mig.
I am no different to most people in that I want to pay the least for the best and have been looking at the second hand market. A second hand Portamig would be ideal but they rarely come onto the market, however, I have seen a Butters 211 and from what I can gather is also a excellent machine.
So here comes my question, the portamig has a starting range of 15/20 amps and the Butters 30 amps (same as a lot of machines). As I will be welding mainly car panels is there an advantage of going below 30 amps?
I have searched everywhere for the answer and have failed to come to a conclusion. A lot of people rave about the portamigs ability to weld at 20 amps especially on car panels but at the same time other people say that 30 amps is ideal for car work.
Can anyone answer this question once and for all?
I would be interested to know if people with portamigs are actually using a setting above 20a when welding panels. Also from people who have a quality mig with a 30a starting range.
I hope that makes sense and I look forward to receiving the replies so that I can finally stop watching EBay and make a purchase.
Thanks.
P.S. If you have a little used portamig for sale please let me know.